The council had previously discussed approving $2,450 in Community Preservation Act funds to help the Broad Brook Coalition eradicate an invasive reed at the conservation area using the herbicide Rodeo, but Ward 7 Councilor Alisa Klein had some concerns about the product. Klein could not be reached for comment.

Council Vice President Jesse Adams said some consider Rodeo similar to Roundup, an herbicide used to cultivate the playing fields at Florence Field, a new recreation area. A group of people protested the use of Roundup at the fields last summer, but the Department of Public Works eventually used the product there.

The Community Preservation Committee has already signed off on the use of Rodeo at Fitzgerald Lake. The city's Planning Department has also okayed the herbicide.